Floating in the Waves (Frerard) (AU)

Chapter 2

"Can we go boating today?" Asked Mikey, at the crack of dawn. Okay, it wasn't the crack of dawn. It was noon, but Gerard had still been asleep. 

Gerard sighed as he rolled over in bed to face his brother, who was standing there waiting for an answer. 

"Fine. Lemme just get ready." Gerard mumbled. Mikey smiled in excitement. 

When Gerard and Mikey were both ready, they took the family boat, which Gerard always drove because he was older. 

Gerard took the boat, as Mikey would say, "too far out". 

"Gee, we probably need to get closer to the shore." Mikey said, concerned. 

"Oh, come on, Mikes! Let's explore the open waters! Besides, nothing's gonna hurt us out here!" Gerard smiled, taking in the warm sunshine, the salty sea smell, and the mist in his face. 

"Gerard, you can't swim." 

"So?"

"What if we broke down or something? What would you do then?" Mikey asked. 

Gerard took his phone out of his pocket and held it up. "Duh." He said, laughing. 

Mikey rolled his eyes, but something in the water caught his attention. 

"What the hell is that?" Gerard asked, noticing something unusual as well. 

"Is it a body?" Mikey asked, again, genuinely concerned. 

"Looks like it. Wanna take a closer look?" Gerard maneuvered the boat closer to the floating body. 

"He's alive!" Mikey shouted. "We gotta help him! Move closer!" 

Gerard positioned the boat closer. 

Sure enough, the man in the water was breathing. He was face up, with his upper body above the water, and his lower body below. 

"Help me lift him into the boat." Mikey said as he grabbed one of the man's wrists. Gerard grabbed the other and they both pulled up. They got to about his waistline, and the brothers almost dropped him. 

"Holy shit! Gerard!" Mikey and Gerard stared at each other, wide-eyed. 

"This guy has a fucking tail! And look at his arms and hands!" 

Sure enough, the man had fins on his arms and webbed fingers.

"Well, we can't just leave him here. Lay him over the back seats, we'll take him back to our place, and...I don't know, we'll put him in the bathtub or something till he recovers." Gerard said as he and Mikey both pulled him into the boat. 

"He's injured. Look, part of his fin's gone." Mikey pointed out. 

"Yeah, definitely can't leave him out here. Some people aren't as nice as we are. Let's go home." 

Gerard steered the boat home, occasionally glancing back to see if their new patient had stirred at all. 

Nope, not yet.